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Xmas Anonymous: 1928

Washington circa 1928. "Christmas tree. No caption information, title devised by library staff." Click here for a closeup of the train set, which has a duck pond and a birdbath. National Photo Company Collection glass negative. View full size.

This house has a dad who either just out and out built the set for himself, or has used the baby boy as an excuse, or convinced his wife that a train set would make a great tree base -- "But honey, imagine how cute it will be to put the presents on the train"!

I wonder if this was something Daddy made and took down from the attic every Yule. I am thinking that is real fountain in the front, since the use of resin for water didn't happen for decades. Must ahve been lovely in the dark with all the tree and village lights glowing!

The traditional Christmas tree seems abandoned to the dazzle of the modern age. All eyes are on the streetlights glowing, paved roads for vehicles, and an electric fountain. Somewhere within that decorated hunk in the background is a modest pine accepting its fate as a has-been. Looks like the handyman in the family won out this year.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo blog featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1950s. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.